Haru on the Cliff by the Sea
by MasterSatanOverlord
Summary: One night a teenage boy with a love for the water has a chance encounter with a couple of mermen. How will this change Haru's life? How will he come to feel for these underwater peoples? I'm sorry guys, I suck with summaries. Basically a merman AU wherein Haru isn't a mercreature. The rating is T for now, but it might go up, whether from smut or detailed gore I haven't decided yet.


**So I was looking through Free! fanfic and I realised. There is a surprising lack of merpeople AUs. I also realised that within the ones that do exist, Haru is always the merman. But! What if he was a human fascinated by marine life and all things oceanic? And so this happened! Despite the fact that I should really be working on other stories right now… I apologize if any of this feels OOC, this is my first time writing for this fandom. Please, feel free (HA!) to read and review!**

Sitting just at the edge of the water, where the waves were nothing but sea foam, Haru gazed out at the golden horizon. His eyes shining just a bit and the smallest hint of pink could be seen high on his cheeks, just under his eyes, if you were to look close enough. His thighs were folded to his chest, his chin resting on his knees, and his arms wrapped around his legs to keep them up. Haru lets out a short sigh, relaxing just a bit more as he breathes in the salty air and takes in the setting sun. He could hear shouting and laughter nearby coming from his small group of friends but he couldn't find it in himself to go over and join them. He inches himself a little closer to the rolling water, close enough that he can feel the coolness seeping through the black fabric of his swim trunks. The frothy liquid lapping gently at his toes before receding again, bright azure eyes remain fixed, just below the horizon, focused on the distant waters of the sea. A longing clear in his gaze. "Haru!" A loud voice calls out to the raven haired teen sitting on the beach. "We're heading back, you staying for a bit longer?" Haru turns his head to look at the overly cheerful boy with orange hair before nodding and returning his gaze to the large body of water, sparkling in the colors of a blood orange. Haru hears the other boys calling out farewells to him before making their way out of the sand.

Just a few minutes after the small group of teens left Haru stood up, walking into the crest of the ocean. Happy to have the cold water flowing around his legs again Haru walks deeper into the sea, beginning to swim as soon as the water was deep enough. Twirling to float on his back, Haru lets out a small sigh as he gazes up at the darkening sky. Without his realizing it, the gold and pink is replaced with a deep navy blue, stars shining and the half moon glowing. When the boy blinks up at the inky darkness he raises a hand, covering the brightest spot to keep the silvery light of the moon out of his eye before rolling around to see how far from the shore he had drifted. Being just a few feet away, Haru decides a bit more swimming wouldn't hurt. He swims a bit further out, recognising the dangers of swimming in the ocean at night alone but not caring. He moves quickly, cutting through the small waves as he swims parallel to the sand.

All of a sudden the raven haired boy feel something clasp down on his ankle, keeping him from continuing his swim. He kicks out roughly, toward whatever had grabbed him, fighting to free himself but the hold on him only tightens. He opens his mouth, ready to scream when the grip is loosened and his leg is released. Haru had turned in his struggle and was now standing, the frigid water coming up to his collarbone, and moving slowly back. He didn't know what had just grabbed him, but it was most definitely not seaweed or kelp. A head pops up from the water, blond hair dripping as the person moves a bit closer. It was a boy, Haru realised, about his age though much more slight. "Woah!" He calls out in a high voice. "You have such pretty eyes! What's your name? I'm Nagisa!" The blond, Nagisa, has a bright smile on his face as he moves even closer.

"Nagisa, back up a little bit, okay?" Another voice calls out from just beside Haru, causing him to jump slightly before looking over to inspect the other stranger. Tall, broad shoulders, olive colored hair and mossy green eyes. "Ah, I'm sorry for Nagisa, he's really excitable." The man speaks in a surprisingly high, but soft and gentle voice, his hand at the back of his neck as though embarrassed by the blond. "My name is Makoto." His eyes look questioningly at Haru.

"Haruka Nanase." He says simply, walking towards the shore. He wasn't sure how to respond to these people who appeared from the sea out of, seemingly, nowhere but he knew that staying to talk probably wasn't the smartest decision. Haru stumbles as his legs break the surface of the small waves rolling in over his thighs.

"Oooooh, Haru-chan!" The small blond calls out excitedly, pausing in his movements as they came closer to the shore.

"Drop the 'chan'." Haruka says without thinking, he got enough of that from Momo he didn't need it from some chibi stranger too.

"But Haru-chan suits you." The boy with magenta eyes pouts, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come on Nagisa, leave Haru alone." The brunet says, bringing Haru's attention back to the larger male. He had been so quiet Haru had almost forgot about him, he had stayed a bit further back than Nagisa and kept giving small, quick glances further out on the horizon, as if he was nervous about something.

"But Mako-chan-"

"You wouldn't want to be a bother, besides. It seems like he has to go." Makoto interrupts the childish boy.

"Fine." Nagisa pouts for a bit longer before brightening again. "Come back at the same time tomorrow, okay?" He practically exclaims. Haru only gives a quiet hum as a means of noncommittal acknowledgement as he exits the water completely, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion just the slightest bit as he turns his back on the brightly beaming, energetically waving Nagisa who was still calling out a farewell.

 **I'm really sorry, I know I should be updating my other stories first but this story happened and I had to type it up...**

 **ALSO! Just so you know, I'm going to be posting a oneshot for another series (Vikings) and then I'll be getting back on schedule. I'm so sorry for the lack of updates but my life has been really crazy. I'm so sorry...**


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